No Longer Human
by weekline7
Summary: Sequel to Final Decision. BleachNaruto crossover. Life after death is something every human thinks about, and often times looks forward to. Naruto was looking for blissful inexistence, but instead got a second chance in death, life. Now, he begins anew.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, and just so you people know, this takes place in the bleach universe but focuses around Naruto and the Yondaime. I'm putting it under the Naruto category because of its focus and lack of focus around actual bleach charaters. Of course, there will be interaction; it wouldn't be fun if there wasn't.

**New Update**: Disregard what it says above. This story does take place in the Bleach universe, but its from Naruto's perspective. I was gonna have it focus around Naruto and the Yondaime, it just didn't work out that way. I don't know if I should change its category or not or even if I can. I really don't know what I just said.

**Important: Well, I changed this chapter little bit but nothing big, I'm sure of it, at least, I think I did. Yeah, I forget if it would help to re-read the chapter to help with the explanation in chapter. Curse my horrid memory, making me forget stuff I did hardly hours before. T.T**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

* * *

Or, So He Thought

"Well, I didn't think that would throw you into depression," a man's voice said sheepishly as the room morphed into a plain (though not a hospital room, Naruto sighed in relief at that realization)room. "Genjutsu," the sheepish voice continued.

Naruto's eyes flickered to a blond, widely grinning man. Naruto's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. Blond hair, sky blue eyes, the same face on the Hokage monument; the man was…

"Oh my God! You're the Yondaime Hokage!" Naruto shouted. The blond man's face morphed into a falsely humble expression. He opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto interrupted agrilly, "It's all your fault!" And the bedridden blond lashed a clenched fist at the man's face angrily.

The blond man's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth dropped open but he still expertly dodged the hastily thrown punch, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no need to get violent!"

"No need to get violent? No need to get violent!" Naruto growled out heatedly, "You fucking sealed that fucking bastard demon in me, you fucking man-whore!" Once again, Naruto lashed out, and once again, the blond man dodged, "Take your punishment like a man!"

By this time, Naruto's eyes were a fiery, crimson and his once blunt nails had grown out into razor claws. His whisker marks thickened and lengthened. Overall, he looked quite primal and ferocious.

"Oh, for the love of," he was cut off as he had to duck under a swipe of Naruto's claws. The blond man did a few hand seals in between dodging and slammed glowing fingers into the younger blonde's abdomen. The effect was immediate as the red chakra receded and then disappeared all together.

"Nn, I feel so tired," Naruto groaned.

"Well, duh, I just cut you off from a large chakra supply," the man stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Bastard," the young blond grumbled.

"Now, is that anyway to speak to your father," the man pretended to reprimand.

"F-father?" Naruto shouted wide-eyed, completely forgetting about his anger.

The man blinked, "You mean they didn't tell you?" Naruto shook his head, "Really? I thought they would have," the man shrugged, "Well, I, Kazama Arashi, am your father!" The blond man, now known as Arashi, placed fisted hands on his hips and puffed out his chest. His hair waved to a sudden unexplainable breeze and light seemed to shine off him.

"Creepy," Naruto muttered.

"Huh? What was that, Naruto?" Arashi looked to Naruto.

"Oh, uh, nothing," Naruto lied.

"Oh, okay," the blond man shrugged.

Naruto sweatdropped, _How gullible._

"Oh, and I'm not creepy," the blond man stated manner-o-factly like.

_Or not._

Naruto looked around again as he sat on the floor to tired to keep standing, "So, am I dead or not?"

Arashi turned solemn, "In a way. I am rather disappointed that you would commit suicide though."

Naruto pierced his father with his own sapphire gaze, "In my situation, you would have done the same. Don't deny it, I know you would have."

Arashi sighed at his son's pessimistic tone, "Perhaps," Naruto glared at him, "Alright, under that much hatred, that much contempt and unloved feelings, I would have committed suicide long before you," the blond man sighed again, "We were only human after all."

The two fell into a tense, depressed silence where they contemplated those words.

Finally, Arashi broke the silence, "I am sorry. I never wanted them to hate you so much. You were supposed to be their hero; I had the highest hopes that you would be viewed as I wished you to," he sighed sadly, "But, they are only human, and humans are such fickle creatures."

"Are we not human anymore?" Naruto questioned.

"No, we're something all our own now. We're neither dead nor alive."

"Huh?"

Arashi chuckled bitterly, "In this world we reside in now, the inhabitants are spirits. To the shinigami who protect and bring souls here and to hell, to the souls who now reside here but are without the reiatsu of the shinigami, they are spirits without bodies.

"We, on the other hand, still possess our bodies and all the abilities that come with them along with the reiatsu of our spirits. We are in the land of the dead but do not belong. Hell, we're not even in our world's afterlife."

"Huh?"

"Our home world, where the great shinobi nations reside, is in another universe. The universe this afterlife belongs to is different. The humans know not of chakra, and use machines that fire small, but piercing objects that can pierce through bone. They have machines that can fly and move faster than even I can run. They have machine's on wheel's that can move as fast as two-hundred miles an hour. They have weapon's that can destroy entire nations without them once setting foot on their soil. It's a horrible, dangerous world, and still the humans are the same, greedy, ignorant creatures who hardly can see passed a face or appearance or reputation.

"It's a horrible reality to those who are unused to seeing such things."

Naruto shivered, "That's awful," Arashi nodded solemnly in response, "And how exactly did we get here?"

"Well," Arashi started, "It was our contact with the shinigamis. Our contact with them gave us reiatsu, which was enough for me to come here and it built up in you and now you're here."

They lapsed into silence once more.

That is, until Naruto asked a question that immediately lightened the blond man's mood: "So, what exactly are we?"

Arashi grinned and Naruto could tell he was going to regret asking, "I've been working on this ever since I realized you were gonna be coming here too."

"Oh god, save me," Naruto pleaded.

The blond man cleared his throat, "We are the souls who wonder, our powers unrivaled. We possess all the powers of the shinigami and more yet know no law. We have the freedom of a hollow yet no shinigami eyes us as prey. We are dead but still, we possess our bodies. We can be spirits invisible to most or real bodies on the earth. We can travel between the living and dead, our ability to wonder knows no limits. Our powers knows no bounds and forever we will live," he took his earlier pose and Naruto cringed. He adamantly kept telling himself he wasn't related to this, to this, to this _thing_.

"And what exactly does that mean," Naruto deadpanned.

The blond man's arms fell, his shoulders dropped, and his chin hit his chest. He let out a mournful wail, "Oh, my son does not share my enthusiasm! The horror! The horror!" The drama queen cried.

Naruto's adamant protest of being related to this man grew louder. His desperate hope that this was all some type of dream and that this idiotic, moronic man was no way related to him grew, _Oh god, oh god, please, I'm begging you, don't let this be true, _Naruto wailed in his thoughts.

Tears streamed down the blond man's face and horrible wails kept escaping his parted lips. Did this man have no dignity?

"Arashi-kun? Is something wrong?" Naruto's head snapped up at the voice. Could it be? Could it really be him?

An old man stepped through the door. His wrinkled face further creased in worry. Gray hair and gray beard; a liver spot here and there.

Yes, it was him. Naruto's eyes glittered with tears, "O-old man Hokage."

* * *

AN: And there you have it. The sequel to the Final Decision. Yeah, I know, its a bit odd. 


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Well, here it is! Chapter two!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto.

* * *

N-naruto-kun? You died? How? Why? Who killed you?" Sarutobi bombarded angrily concerned.

"Yeah, Old Man, I'm dead," he said, slightly wistful.

"But, how? Why?"

"I, uh, offed myself cause I just couldn't take it anymore," Naruto said nervously.

"Oh, you poor boy." He whacked Arashi on the head.

"Ow," Arashi exclaimed, hands going to his head, "What'd ya do that for, Old Man?" The blond man shouted indignantly.

"Baka! It's your fault!" Sarutobi accused.

"What? Why?" Arashi whined.

"If you hadn't been stupid enough to seal that damn demon in Naruto, he wouldn't have suffered! Baka!"

"I panicked! A huge ass demon fox was destroying Konoha! I couldn't think!" Arashi exclaimed pathetically.

"Why, in Kami-sama's name, did I make you Hokage?" Sarutobi sighed exasperated.

"Cause I am the strongest ninja ever!" Arashi's shouted triumphantly.

"No, I chose you because Orochimaru turned out to be a creepy, pedophile snake."

The blond man pouted, "But, I am strong."

"You're an idiot," Naruto deadpanned.

Tears poured down Arashi's face comically, "Even my own son's against me! The horror!" He cried.

Both Naruto and Sarutobi sweatdropped before ignoring the blond man completely. "I know the idiot already may have answered some of the questions, but I'm not sure I can completely trust his words. So, I'll just confirm some stuff with you. Okay?"

"Alright, go ahead, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi smiled his grandfatherly smile.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, "So, does every ninja come to this world? Or is it true that only ninja who somehow develop reiatsu can come here?"

Sarutobi took a moment to think, eyes straying away in thought as he moved his hand to his chin. He took a moment to sit in a chair that was coincidentally placed next to the bed. Naruto took this as his queue to sit back down on the bed. "I have not been here long, but I believe I have come to better conclusions than Arashi-kun. Arashi-kun is probably right about _you_ developing your own reiatsu from the shinigami's power contained within the seal which forced you to this world. But Arashi-kun and I were brought here by the shinigami we summoned. Oh, it did attempt to eat our souls as it was in the process of becoming a vaizard," Naruto didn't know what a vaizard was, but marked it as something bad, "but because of the fact that our anatomy and souls were so different, it immediately spat us back up and we were free," Sarutobi finished.

"Oh," Naruto whispered, eyebrows scrunched together slightly in worried contemplations, "So that means that Orochimaru won't show up due to exposure of reiatsu from the shinigami?"

Sarutobi's eyebrows shot up, "Yes, of course, but how did you know about Orochimaru?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out, all the clues have been given to me. I know you and Orochimaru fought, I know you lost, but Orochimaru called off the attack showing that you did damage that he didn't know how to reverse. Later, Ero-sennin and I went to look for your replacement, Tsunade. Ero-senning was teaching me rasengan along the way," Naruto smiled sadly at the memory. "We found Tsunade eventually. We got into a fight about what being Hokage was all about and then we made a bet. If I could master rasengan in a week then she would become Godaime Hokage and give me her necklace and if I lost I would give her all the money in my wallet."

Naruto peered under his shirt to see if it was still there. With a small smile, he pulled the necklace out and showed it to Sarutobi who, upon seeing the necklace, nearly gasped in surprise. "That's…"

"Yes, it originally belonged to the first Hokage. But, that's not the point; how I won is. See, Orochimaru came to Tsunade to try and get her to heal his arms. She might have too, if me and Jiraiya hadn't gotten there. We fought Orochimaru and his minion, Kabuto. With a clone, I completed the rasengan. Eventually, Tsunade declared she was the new Hokage and Orochimaru and Kabuto retreated.

"That was only a small piece of the information, but the fact that Orochimaru needed the best med-nin's help to heal his arms and that Kabuto couldn't do meant it wasn't an average wound that made his arms unuseable.

"The final piece of information you just told me. You summoned the shinigami and attempted to seal Orochimaru inside yourself only to be eaten by the shinigami, therefore killing you and Orochimaru. But, for some reason you were only able to seal his arms. Am I correct?" Naruto finished his list.

"Yes," Sarutobi nodded, taking in the information solemnly. At least he knew he had a good replacement that cared deeply for the wellbeing of Konoha. He smiled, amused, "Well, I'm glad it was Tsunade who took my spot. Better a chronic gambler and drunk than an idiot. I should've realized that Arashi-kun had picked up Jiraiya's idiocy before I chose him to be Hokage." At this point, the comically hysteric man gave off a particularly loud, strangled sob.

"Baka," Naruto muttered, giving the man an annoyed glare. "What should I do about Kyuubi?"

"Actually," Sarutobi began, voice thoughtful, "I don't think Kyuubi is here."

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, "What? That doesn't make sense, I summoned his chakra. He has to be there."

"No, you summoned your chakra," Sarutobi replied. When Naruto's confusion didn't lessen, Sarutobi continued, "I do not believe his mind is here, in this world. The reiatsu went to you. He may have been sealed but you were the container, the jailor. Even if the seal was connected to the fox, no jail allows its prisoners to gain more power. The point is," Sarutobi began to finish up at Naruto's impatient look, "that the Kyuubi had no connection to this world, so when you died, it died, but you went to a different afterlife taking all its power with you. If that makes any sense."

"Um, yeah, whatever. All I need to know is that I have the bastard fox's power with no fox to bother me," Naruto decided.

"Naruto! Naruto! Naruto! Look what I got you!" Arashi yelled and Naruto sighed. He hadn't even seen the man leave the room. Arashi held out a smaller version of his white, flame-hemmed coat.

"I am not wearing that," Naruto dead panned.

"What! Why not?" Arashi shouted indignantly.

"Because," Naruto began slowly, irritably, "I don't like it."

Arashi gasped amazed, "How can you not like it? It's the most awesome of awesome!" The man exclaimed, moving his hands wildly around as if that explained everything.

Naruto shook his head exasperated, "Because I just don't like it, baka."

"Oh, my poor, poor son!" Arashi shouted and began crying again.

Naruto and Sarutobi rolled their eyes and ignored the man, "So, what do you do around here?"

"Well, Arashi-kun is training me and sometimes he goes to the living world to slay hollows. Actually, we won't be doing that for awhile. We still have to work on reiatsu control and techniques and you have to work on chakra control and techniques. It's going to be a long time before either of us go to the living world."

"Um, right. So, what are hollows and how would _he _know of reiatsu techniques?" Naruto rolled his eyes at the still hysterical man, once again denying being related to him.

"Well, hollows are evil spirits. Most of them have been consumed with grief and turned into evil creatures, some were consumed by other hollows and then transformed into hollows, and others committed mortal sins like murder in their lifetime. They eat souls and don't care if they hurt the living. We really don't know their motivation for doing what they do," Sarutobi explained.

"And?" Naruto prompted.

"Oh, when Arashi-kun first came here an actual shinigami found him disoriented. Apparently, the shinigami leader, upon noticing that Arashi-kun had reiatsu, decided to enroll him in what was called the shinigami academy. There, Arashi learned all about the shinigami ways, but also found out that he could do things no one else could, like use chakra. He also found out he wasn't from this universe. Upon graduating and receiving his sword, which he called a zanpaku-to, he declined being a shinigami and wondered around here. He somehow built this house in, apparently, uncharted territory."

"Right, whatever. Let's get to training."

"Yes! Training! I will teach you everything I know, my son!" Arashi shouted excitedly.

"Great," Naruto drawled sarcastically.

* * *

AN: Alright that's it. I know its short and took way too long, but I don't care. So don't review just to tell me something I already know. I really don't want to read a review that says: "It took too long, its too short, your writing sucks." That's annoying.

**Important:** If something doesn't make sense to you, just tell me and I will try my best to explain it. Thank you for reading and, hopefully, reviewing how great my story is!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Well, here's chapter three, sooner than usually and short. But, what can I do, I don't like writing long chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

* * *

Kazama Naruto strolled down a dark, empty street. A light, cool breeze ruffled his long, messy blond spikes. The excess hair was tied at the base of his neck.

He wore a dark red, tight sleeveless shirt under an open, loose black jacket. His hands were tucked into the pockets of loose black jeans. A kunai pouch was strapped to his right, mid-thigh and a utility pouch was strapped to his belt. Homemade, black ninja sandals adorned his feet and a long, curved sword was strapped to his back.

His senses were reaching out, hoping to pick up something interesting. He'd learn everything his father could teach him and more. While he wasn't good at everything and his chakra, along with his reiatsu, was still wild. One thing he knew was that he was strong. With all of Kyuubi's chakra being absorbed into his body he knew he outmatched Arashi and Sarutobi in sheer stamina and power. Of course, they would still probably beat him because they had much more experience in battles and control. But, he was content with his strength, but was bored with everything else.

That's why he was down in the living world. He was looking for something interesting, maybe something he could occupy his time with.

Naruto sighed, there were no hollows to fight; there was, however, a spirit emitting a large amount of reiatsu. Naruto's eyebrows rose, it felt like a shinigami. But, why would a shinigami be in Karakura Town? He smacked himself in the head, patrol of course, but, the spirit's reiatsu seemed a bit high for a simple patroller.

Naruto shrugged; nothing else was happening in the city, might as well check it out. So, the blond man decided to follow it to the source.

He came across a teenage boy with spiky, orange hair and brown eyes arguing with a small, but obviously teenage girl with dark hair and dark eyes. The teenage boy was the source of the high reiatsu. The strange thing, however, was that the girl seemed to be a shinigami in a gigai.

_Interesting_, Naruto thought.

The next day, Naruto followed them, learning and analyzing them. The two seemed to argue a lot. He watched them go through the school day, leaving once to fight a hollow. He watched the interactions between them and their friends. It was quite amusing. So, by the end of the day, Naruto had decided that he wanted to get closer to the two and, to do that, enrolled himself in the two's school. It was sure to be interesting.

It had become far to boring listening to his father's (he had accepted him as that eventually) crazed rants. And he'd already learned everything he could from the two Hokage's so there was no reason to stick around. He didn't have anything better to do, after all. Such are the consequences of being eternal.

Now, all he had to do to fit in was manipulate his body to look fifteen. No big deal. He couldn't wait.

* * *

Naruto didn't particularly like the school uniforms or rules, but at least a kunai holster and utility pouch didn't raise any question of weaponry like a sword would, after all, there was no reason to suspect the innocent looking accessories. So, it was with his bag slung over his shoulder and hands shoved into his pockets that Naruto strolled into the classroom.

He didn't draw too many stares as he had entered quietly. But, that didn't mean he didn't notice a scowling face and analyzing gaze on him courtesy of his entertainment.

Naruto smirked and raised a lazy hand, "Yo," he greeted coolly. The dark-haired girl's, or Kuchiki Rukia as he had learned, eyebrows creased and she walked up to the blond.

"Who are you?" She asked abruptly.

Naruto gave her an amused grin, "Well, aren't you ruse," he drawled. "Who might you be, rude girl?"

"I'm Kuchiki Rukia. Who are you?"

"Kuchiki? That sounds familiar. Something about a noble family…" Naruto evaded.

Rukia stiffened, face showing her shock before she grabbed Naruto's wrist and dragged the blond out. Naruto chuckled as he let himself be pulled away.

Secluded, Rukia turned to him, arms crossed and glaring. It might have been intimidating if Naruto had been as short as when he was twelve.

"Who are you?" She growled.

"Kazama Naruto," Naruto answered simply, looking down at her coolly.

"What are you?" She growled again, continuing her angry glare.

Naruto rubbed his chin, mouth stretching into a contemplative line as his eyes roamed to the ceiling, "Well, I'd like to consider myself human, but that's not quiet right, eh, shinigami?" Naruto smirked mischievously.

Rukia took a step back defensively and Naruto chuckled, amused. "Don't worry, Rukia-san, I'm only bored. Living eternally with nothing to do will do that ta ya, ne?"

"Uh, I wouldn't know," Rukia answered unsure.

Naruto snorted, "Course you wouldn't."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Rukia growled, back to glaring.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Naruto chuckled.

"It's not funny!" Rukia angrily.

"I beg to differ," Naruto drawled, smirking down at the angry shinigami.

Rukia opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted, "Rukia? What are you doing?" An orange-haired teenager made himself known with an irritated voice: Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed. "I need—"

The bell rung, signaling class to start, "Well, time ta go," Naruto said merrily as he hurried to class. Rukia huffed irritated before following.

* * *

Damn. He'd forgotten to bring lunch. Naruto couldn't believe he'd forgotten to bring lunch. How could he be so stupid? He groaned and laid his head down on his desk. Class had been as boring as hell and now he'd forgotten his lunch. It really sucked.

"Forget your lunch?" An orange-haired, scowling boy asked, slightly coldly. The teen's hands were in his pockets and he wasn't looking directly at Naruto.

"Oh, yeah, silly me," Naruto answered grumpily.

"You had Rukia pretty pissed, what'd you do?"

Naruto lifted his head and smirked, "Oh, this and that," he evaded, voice laced with amusement.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," the teen stated.

Naruto nodded and pretended he hadn't already known, "Kazama Naruto."

"Well, come one." Ichigo left, expecting Naruto to follow. He did, of course.

Lunch was an interesting affair, despite Naruto's lack of food. Rukia basically ignored him in an angry fit while Naruto just watched the group's interactions amused.

* * *

The end of the school day came quickly and Naruto left at an easy pace, welcoming the freedom enthusiastically. He headed to the home he'd bought on a previous visit. Actually, it was more of an apartment.

Naruto lazed around for awhile before making himself a simple dinner. It wasn't the best of meals, but it was better than ramen.

As he finished he felt an evil presence appear nearby. In a quick burst of his reiatsu, he was back in his normal clothing, glad to feel the familiar weight of his zanpaku-to.

He shunshined to the hollow's presence and found himself in another apartment with a large, snake-like hollow staring him down.

He blinked at the odd sight. There were two, identical orange-haired girls with a long chain connecting them at the chest. One seemed to be unconscious while the other was cowering in fear. Another girl, with dark hair, was also knocked out on the floor.

"Who are you?" The hollow asked, sounding slightly deranged. Ichigo's reiatsu made itself known at the edge of Naruto's senses and the blond grinned

"None of your business," Naruto sneered. The hollow struck out with a long arm which the blond easily dodged, "And you're so slow."

The hollow howled and Naruto realized Ichigo would be there any second.

Grinning wider, Naruto left the hollow alone; instead, he turned his attention to the dark-haired girl. He healed her wounds with his healing reiatsu. She groaned and Naruto picked her up, shunshining to his apartment. He laid her on his couch, hearing commotion from the next apartment.

Naruto smirked and turned to the waking tomboy. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked around groggily.

"Wh-where am I?" She groaned, hand pressed to her temple as if trying to fight off a headache.

"Yo," Naruto waved.

The girl jumped up defensively, but she struggled to stand straight. She wavered on her feet and shakily drew herself into a defensive stance.

Naruto grinned lazily, "Stand down, fighter," he drawled, knowing she was from his class but unable to remember her name.

"Why should I do that?" The tomboy growled but startled at a loud bang, "What the hell was that?"

"Oh, just a little commotion from next door," he mused slowly, "Don't worry, it's being taken care of."

"Should we help?" The girl asked concerned, glancing at the direction the noise came from.

"Naw," Naruto felt the hollow's presence disappear, "S'over now. No need to worry," Naruto stated cheerfully.

"But—"

"You can go now," the blond interrupted.

The girl opened her mouth to argue, but decided against it, instead, she huffed agitatedly and left, slamming the door on her way out.

Naruto chuckled. There was no denying it, today was definitely amusing and proved to be worth the effort. Tomorrow would prove just as interesting, he was sure.

* * *

AN: Yes, I know, kinda boring, but whatever. Review please! Who knows, I might just update quicker if I get a lot of reviews! 


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Alrighty! Chapter 4 is here and longer than the other chapters! Still short though and you'll probably tell me its boring and then I'll get discouraged and never write this story again...

Enjoy, I guess...

Disclaimer: Like I own any of this. Hell, if it ain't free I ain't got nothing to do with it. Except food, I love food...

* * *

Time passed quickly and Naruto greatly enjoyed himself. He didn't even imagine how amusing watching Ichigo and his friends would be. He was definitely pleased. The Kon incident where he freaked Ichigo out by grabbing him when Kon knocked him away was especially hilarious. Although, he'd despised Don Kompagi or whatever the hell that man's name was. He should have listened to his gut telling him not to accept the offer to go to a live broadcasting of the horrid show. After that, however, he'd enjoyed slaying the hollows that came when the idiot quincy released hollow bait. That was when he noticed that Ichigo's friends Orihime and Chad (or was it Sado) had grown exponentially. He raised his reiatsu level to match theirs. 

And all throughout these little incidents Naruto had become closer to Ichigo, a still peeved and suspicious Rukia, Orihime, Sado, and the tomboy from the hollow attack in Orihime's apartment, Arisawa Tatsuki. He avoided Ichigo's other two friends, Kiego and Mizuiro; they annoyed him.

Ichigo's reiatsu grew tremendously, though he had no control whatsoever over it which made him less of a threat. Unlike Ichigo, Naruto had some form of control over his reiatsu, though it was undeniably wild and vast he had the ability very few did. He could completely cut off his reiatsu because his body did not depend on it. He loved sneaking up on people by erasing his presence like that.

More than anything else, he enjoyed spending time with Tatsuki. She was a great sparring partner and she took great pride in trying to beat Naruto and realizing she was getting stronger because of it. Naruto was very content with how things were going.

But the day before vacation, Rukia didn't show up for school and hardly anyone seemed to notice. Ichigo had been tense and disgruntled. Naruto went through the rest of the day confused and irritated.

Naruto's confusion wasn't settled until a black cat named Yoruichi informed him of the situation. Rukia had been taken back to Soul Society as a criminal. Two shinigami, Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Byakuya, had come to collect Rukia and Renji had had fought Ichigo. Ichigo lost when Byakuya interfered. Now, Ichigo was training to lead a suicide mission into the soul society to rescue Rukia and the cat was asking Naruto if he wanted training so he could come too.

Naruto looked down at the cat, a smirk gracing his face, "Do you really have to ask?" Yoruichi blinked. "Of course, I want to train with Ichigo." Naruto knew he sounded slightly arrogant, but he didn't care.

"Hm," Yoruichi muttered, keen eyes staring at the blond teen.

"Well, kitty, can I?" Naruto prodded, his smirk widening.

Yoruichi hissed, "Fine, go ahead, but I doubt you could handle it."

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever," he looked to the pissed cat, "Well, lead the way, kitty."

The cat's fur bristled and, with a glare, Yoruichi lead the way without waiting to see if the blond was following. Yoruichi lead Naruto to a shop that the blond did not recognize.

"Thanks kitty!" Naruto exclaimed with a cheerful wave. Yoruichi stalked away indignantly, fur still bristled in fury. Naruto grinned at the angry cat's retreat.

Still grinning, Naruto entered the small shop. He quietly waited for someone to show up while he looked at all the strange merchandise. "Who are you?" A lazy voice spoke from the shadows. Naruto looked up to see a man with light blond hair wearing green. His eyes were shadowed by a green and white striped beach hat. He looked a bit lazy with his laid back aura and unshaven face.

"I'm Kazama Naruto," he answered, a deceivingly cheerful grin plastered on his face while he studied the man.

The man's eyes took on a sharper gaze, "Kazama? I've heard that somewhere before?" The man mused to himself.

"I'm here for training with Ichigo," Naruto stated, voice cheerful, deciding to ignore the man's statement; at least, for the moment.

"Why?" The man asked perplexed.

"Well, because I want to help Ichigo rescue Rukia!" Naruto answered, mimicking his father when the man was in a heroic mood.

"Ichigo is receiving special training, so you can't train with him," the man denied.

"Why can't you train me at the same time? I need to learn swordsmanship. My father wasn't much of a teacher..." Naruto trailed off before directing his gaze pointedly at the man's cane.

Beneath his hat, the man's eyebrows rose, "You know?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well, it's fairly obvious. I mean, you don't look like you need a cane, but you carry one anyway which means it is probably a concealed weapon, most likely a sword," he explained while he let loose a burst of reiatsu to make his sword appear in his hands. He let the man examine it.

Immediately, the man's eyes widened, "That's a—"

"Zanpaku-to? Yes, I know," Naruto said with a smirk. He'd done it, he'd sparked the man's curiosity and curiosity is always hard to deny.

"Can you activate its shikai form? Do you know your blades name?" The man inquired almost eagerly.

"Activate what? And name?" Naruto answered confused. His father had never said anything about a shikai form.

"Your shikai. Your zanpaku-to has the ability to be unlocked into a more powerful form and to activate your shikai you must know your blade," the man explained hurriedly.

"Oh." Naruto couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Alright, I'll train you," he nodded to himself. "I'm Urahara Kisuke, in case you were wondering."

"Right," Naruto returned slowly, "So, when do we start, Kisuke-sensei?"

"Now. Come Naruto, Ichigo will arrive shortly." Kisuke motioned for Naruto to follow

"Hai!"

* * *

Ichigo arrived later for his training and Naruto was allowed to watch the beginning of the orange-haired teen's training. He found it undeniably amusing. Before Ichigo arrived, Kisuke had trained Naruto, though the blond man seemed to be testing Naruto more than training him. Naruto was proud to admit that he had impressed the man without using any of his shinobi abilities. Well, he'd used the speed, agility, and reaction time that he acquired from being and training as a ninja, but he'd completely cut himself off from his chakra. It had been difficult fighting without a power he'd always had, but the challenge had definitely been worthwhile.

Naruto was cut from his thoughts when Ichigo fell into a hole screaming. The blond teen blinked for a moment before a grin broke across his face though he restrained himself from laughing.

"Come, Naruto, time for your training," Kisuke said, motioning for the other blond to follow. Naruto eagerly jumped to his feet and followed. "Alright, Naruto," the man said as he turned to face Naruto, "Come at me with everything you got."

"Hai!" Naruto drew his zanpaku-to and fell into a ready stance. He took a deep, calming breath before snapping his eyes open and charging quickly. Kisuke's eyes widened at the teen's speed before he jumped away to avoid a deadly strike.

Kisuke expected Naruto to slow down after that attack; he expected the initial strike to be a quick burst of speed that drained the teen's energy. He was sure that if he dodged the first attack then Naruto would have wasted too much energy to be of any threat. Kisuke expected Naruto to be pissed and for his mind to cloud in anger.

Instead, Kisuke found himself barely dodging a faster swing from Naruto's blade only to be kicked away. He rolled to a stop, crouching. Slowly, the blond man stood, cane still clutched in his hand. Kisuke was serious now.

Naruto smirked at the other blond. He was being tested again. He knew because Kisuke hadn't given him any instructions to unlock his shikai. Of course, this time, he'd let his chakra flow through his body again and it felt good to have his chakra back. Naruto felt stronger.

"You've gotten faster," Kisuke spoke just loud enough for Naruto to hear.

Naruto's smirk grew wider, "Have I, now?"

"But," Kisuke halted Naruto's confidence as he lifted a finger, "I'm much stronger than you and a better swordsman." The moment Kisuke pulled his sword from his cane was the moment that Naruto knew this fight would be long and hard. The previous fight, where Naruto was sure Kisuke was testing him, the blond man hadn't used his zanpaku-to.

Naruto tensed, waiting for an attack. The man's abilities were unknown; fighting an opponent you know nothing about is always dangerous. Naruto's eyes never left Kisuke's form.

Kisuke charged. He was fast; Naruto was barely able to bring his zanpaku-to up to block. Sparks flew as the metal clashed and Naruto realized his blade had been chipped.

Naruto jumped away, eyes wide in surprise. Nothing had been able to chip his sword before. Unconsciously, his hold on his reiatsu slackened and he charged. His initial strike was blocked and his second swing was pushed away by Kisuke's blade while the blond man delivered a fierce punch to Naruto's gut.

Spit flew from Naruto's mouth as he tumbled a way to land on his back. The teen's eyes widened as he saw the shadowed form of Kisuke above him. Automatically, Naruto brought his zanpaku-to up to block. A clash of metal and reiatsu followed before Naruto kicked the older blond away.

Quickly, Naruto jumped to his feet, ready for the man's next attack. A blood coated blade sliced through his shoulder and Naruto's head whipped to the side to find Kisuke behind him. Another burst of reiatsu pushed the man away as Naruto clutched his shoulder. Magenta chakra surrounded the wound, healing the bloody hole in seconds.

Naruto panted as he slowly flexed his previously injured shoulder, his eyes never leaving Kisuke. He noticed the man's surprise; Kisuke probably didn't expect that to heal quickly if at all. Naruto smirked; he had the advantage of almost instantaneous healing.

At Kisuke's charge, Naruto released more reiatsu as he charged to meet the man. Their blades clashed, creating a shockwave that shook the ground. Naruto snarled as he pushed harder against his blade, attempting to push the man back.

Kisuke pushed back harder, fully expecting Naruto to struggle to stay anchored. Naruto didn't move, in fact, he lifted one foot and brought it forward, effectively pushing Kisuke back. In retaliation, Kisuke poured his strength into forcing the blade forward.

Naruto struggled to keep his feet anchored in the ground with chakra but it was getting harder. He simply didn't have that good of control over his chakra. He had even less control over his chakra when reiatsu was in his system. Naruto growled low in his throat, "Fine!" He snarled, rashly deciding to unleash at least half of his reiatsu.

Reiatsu poured out of Naruto quickly, forcing Kisuke to jump away or be thrown by the sheer amount of reiatsu. Without waiting for Kisuke to land, Naruto attacked. Kisuke had no choice but to dodge and jump away.

Kisuke's own reiatsu burst from his body, "Okiro! Benihime!" Kisuke's cane sword transformed. Benihime was a slightly short sword which was slim and sharp. The end of its blade did not come to a point, instead the tip was a slanted, razor-like edge. Benihime's hilt was long, the last few inches of the hilt were bent at an angle. The sword did not have a cross guard, in the cross guard's place was a string wrapped around the hilt three times and then tied into a triple loop bow. Inches of the blade were covered in a skirt like decoration.

"Argh!" Naruto's cried as he swung at the now stationary blond man. Kisuke easily blocked the incoming blade, feeling satisfied with the increase of strength Benihime gave him. The blond man pushed Naruto away, watching as he once again rolled away.

Naruto stood with a scowl, only to jump away to avoid a nasty swing at his chest. He had no time to rest as Kisuke immediately attacked him again, seeming to appear just as he landed. Naruto frowned; Kisuke was too fast, all he could do was run. Naruto hated running.

The blond teen growled deep in throat as he was once again forced to jump away. "Not this time!" Naruto yelled as he swung at Kisuke. Kisuke ducked under the teen's swing and jabbed forward with Benihime. Benihime sliced into Naruto's abdomen before the blond teen jumped away with his gathered momentum.

Naruto was unable to land on his feet as he coughed up blood, "Damn!" He growled, forcing his magenta charka out to heal the wound. Kisuke didn't give him the chance to heal on the spot. Naruto had to jump away to avoid yet another swing. His unsteady, slow jump allowed him to get away, but not without severing his left forearm.

A scream of pain erupted from his throat as he dropped his zanpaku-to to clutch his stub of an arm, even as blood gushed out of the wound. He was furious and in pain; he wanted to bash someone's head in but the pain froze his body.

"Shit," Kisuke cursed. Naruto's eyes were wide, pupils dilated; even if the teen did have amazing healing powers, no one could heal a severed arm. He hadn't meant to sever the teen's arm. Kisuke had expected the blond teen to be just a little faster.

Even though he knew his eyes were open, wide open in a horrifying way, Naruto only saw the world fade to black.

* * *

AN: There it is, chapter three, I mean 4, yah, four. I think its the fourth one... My heads getting spinny. Yah, I don't do many battle scenes, so forgive me if its as horrible as I think it is. Review please, it makes me feel better inside. Unless your a jacka-jerk like Hoyt which the only thing he can come up with is that he hates it and he didn't even come up with a creative way to do it; like writing with the cap lock on and misspelling every other word... 


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